CEPAL: Economic improvement for 2019, but with "growth traps"

The modalities of international cooperation must adapt to the new global context and facilitate the development processes of countries with new instruments, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America said today. and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena.

The official was one of the speakers at the event entitled "Transition to Sustainable Development: New Forms of Co-operation in Line with the 2030 Agenda", organized by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Bank's Development Bank. Canada. Latin America (CAF), CEPAL and the European Union on the sidelines of the 2nd UN High Level Conference on South-South Cooperation.

On this occasion, the joint document of the four institutions "Latin American Economic Outlook 2019" (LEO) was published, calling for "a renewed and inclusive multilateralism to build a new approach to development and growth. a new paradigm of international cooperation, to overcome the development pitfalls that countries in the region face ".

"These are the traps of productivity, social vulnerability, institutional and environmental sustainability," said ECLAC.

The report says that Latin America and the Caribbean must be "in the vanguard of this thinking about international cooperation" and urges governments in the region to "take up the challenge of promoting international cooperation." a renewed and inclusive multilateralism that helps to respect the sustainable development agenda by 2030 ".

"The 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a renewed consensus to achieve a new paradigm of development and a significant step forward in the policy area.This ambitious agenda can not be achieved alone, it defines commitments for the entire international community and demanding political action at the national, regional and global levels, "Bárcena said during the presentation.

"Today we are facing a very volatile and changing context, weak multilateralism, climate change, increased inequality and fragmented cooperation," the official said. "Many countries have been" graduates "(of public aid), but that means countries still have structural shortcomings, which makes them fall into this" development trap, "" he explained.

"To deal with this situation, we are presenting concrete proposals, such as reducing transaction costs related to remittances, regulating cross-border illicit flows, etc." We must change the indicators, seek spaces for cooperation and strengthen the generation of regional and global public goods. ", Emphasized Bárcena.

The multilateral conference that began Wednesday in Buenos Aires is the most important in terms of South-South cooperation and relies on the exchange of experiences and knowledge in order to strengthen the capacities of States.

Representatives from 193 UN member states, international organizations and more than 1,500 participants will participate. Debates and working meetings will be organized until next Friday.

Read the full report by clicking here.